The Executive Yuan yesterday said it was closely monitoring the latest developments following an attempted coup in Turkey, adding that, as of last night, all Taiwanese living and traveling in Turkey were safe.
“Premier Lin Chuan (林全) was immediately briefed on the coup attempt in Turkey, which led to dozens of fatalities, and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Overseas Community Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs to determine if Taiwanese nationals were affected,” Cabinet spokesman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said.
An EVA Airways (長榮航空) flight bound for Turkey was turned around and landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday morning, the company said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
According to the Tourism Bureau, there are 30 Taiwanese tour groups with a total of 675 people in Turkey, with most of them staying in their hotels as tour operators plan the next step, since all flights to or from Istanbul Ataturk Airport have been suspended, Tung said, adding that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked EVA Air to provide its lounge for Taiwanese already at the airport.
Apart from tourists, junior and senior-high school athletes are taking part in the Gymnasiade in Trabzon, Turkey — which is hundreds of kilometers away from Turkey’s capital, Ankara, or Istanbul — and the Ministry of Education reported that all were safe, Tung said.
“According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan’s representative office in Turkey has been in touch with a number of Taiwanese businesses — mostly in Istanbul — to remind them to stay safe and pay close attention to developments in the situation,” he said.
Following the coup attempt, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a red travel alert for Turkey, warning Taiwanese businesspeople and tourists in Turkey to stay vigilant and avoid crowded places.
Under the four-color system, the lowest threat level is gray, followed by yellow, orange and red.
A red alert advises people to refrain from traveling to the region in question.
It added that Taiwanese in Turkey can get in touch with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Mission in Ankara via the emergency number 0532-332-7162 if dialing from within Turkey, or 90-532-322-7161 if calling from outside Turkey.
Additional reporting by CNA
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